Roommates
by scriptblossom
Summary: He asked for a roommate. He didn't expect it to be a girl.
1. Roommates

**Roommates  
**by Diana-san

**Author's Note:** Was intending for this to be a one-shot but if people like me to continue this, then I might. Happy New Year!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

* * *

**01\. Roommates**

Sasuke was at a loss for words. His roommate had left just a simple note announcing that he was moving back to Suna and now Sasuke was stuck with an empty room and the missing half of the rent for next month. So with no other options, Sasuke placed a few flyers on some message boards in the city and waited for phone calls. He had less than two weeks to find a roommate fast before he gets kicked out.

He wondered if it was a big mistake to put his phone number on the flyer as he ended up getting calls from what he could only imagine as low-end prostitutes looking for a cheap thrill. When he managed to sift through the prank calls and drunken voicemails, he ended up with a good list of ten potential candidates.

The first guy came to his apartment at around 10 am. He seemed normal enough. With short brown hair and a heavy winter jacket on, he looked like a potential roommate. He introduced himself as Kiba and Sasuke gave him a quick tour of the place.

"So what do you think?" Sasuke asked as they finished the tour and were now headed towards the front door.

"It's nice. A little small for Akamaru's taste but I think we can make it work."

"Akamaru? Is that your girlfriend?"

"Oh no, he's not."

"Oh, boyfriend? That's cool, I don't judge."

Kiba laughed. "No, he's my dog."

Sasuke paused. "Dog?"

"Yeah, he's the cutest thing ever. You'll love him!"

Sasuke did not want a dog in his apartment. Even though the apartment allowed for pets, a dog was the last thing on Sasuke's mind. He wanted a clean, tidy place and a dog would mess it all up. There would be hair all over the carpet and what if it barked at night?

"Sorry, our place doesn't allow pets."

"What?! But I thought-"

"Nope, sorry. Thanks for coming by," Sasuke interrupted as he shut the door on Kiba.

The second guy came at around noon and he brought over a can of paint.

"What's that?" Sasuke asked.

"Paint." He introduced himself as Sai. "I actually don't need a room but I saw the picture on your flyer and it looked like it could use some color so I thought I would lend you my services."

Sasuke stared at Sai before shutting the door on him. "Weird hippie artist," Sasuke muttered under his breath.

The third guy came at around 3 pm. He was eating out of a bag of potato chips when Sasuke opened the door.

"Chouji," the guy introduced himself between bites of potato chips.

Sasuke wrinkled his nose. He could see a piece of chip on Chouji's shirt and there were crumbs falling to the ground. Sasuke didn't want to let him in but he had no choice as Chouji barged in with chips in tow. Reluctantly, Sasuke gave the fastest tour of the apartment as he could while avoiding opening any doors to the bedroom since it was carpeted.

"Okay, that's the place," Sasuke rushed quickly.

"But what about the bedrooms?" Chouji asked.

"Uh, it's under renovation right now. But it looks basically like the flyer," Sasuke lied.

"Okay, do you think we can add another fridge in the kitchen? Or maybe my bedroom?"

Sasuke stared at Chouji. Was one fridge not enough? There was only going to be two people living in the apartment. Did the guy want to hibernate through the winter or something?

"No," Sasuke replied curtly. "You can probably do a mini fridge in your room if you really need to."

Sasuke watched as a few crumbs fell to the floor of his living room. He frowned. This was the opposite of a clean, tidy space.

"Okay then. I'll take it!" Chouji responded with a grin.

"Actually, I have more people coming in to view the place so I'll contact you if you get the place."

"What are my chances?" Chouji asked as Sasuke began escorting him to the front door.

"Very high," Sasuke said through gritted teeth as he tried to get Chouji and his crumbs to leave the apartment as soon as possible.

"That's good. Then I'll hope to hear from you…"

Sasuke shut the door.

"…soon," Chouji finished as he stared back at the door.

The fourth guy never showed up and Sasuke could only imagined that he got lost. "A no-show from Kakashi," Sasuke muttered as he crossed the name off his list.

Sasuke glanced down at the list. There was only a few more names left.

The fifth guy came five minutes before the scheduled time and rang the doorbell excessively. Sasuke opened it in annoyance to see a bushy eyebrow man with a huge smile on his face.

"What a youthful looking man!" spoke the bushy eyebrows.

"You must be Lee."

"Indeed I am! I am burning with the fire of a thousand suns in excitement to be your potential roommate."

Sasuke nodded absentmindedly as he waved Lee in. The quick tour ended up to be half an hour as Lee talked nonstop about every single room and every piece of furniture along the way.

"That looks like a wonderful bed to be doing a lot of youthful activities!" Lee exclaimed.

Sasuke crossed his arms and tapped his fingers impatiently as he listened to Lee drone on and on. "Yes, yes. Everything is youthful here. I have another viewer coming in five minutes so sorry to cut this short."

"Absolutely no problem! I will also love to join in and see what questions the next person has!"

"I don't think that is advisable," Sasuke said as he guided Lee to the door. "But I'll call you if anything."

"Do you have my number?"

"No," Sasuke said as he closed the door on Lee.

The sixth guy called Sasuke on the phone.

"Your place is too troublesome to get to. Can I just not meet up with you?"

Sasuke stared at the phone. He didn't know how to respond. If the guy didn't show up, how would he know if he was a lunatic or not?

"Sorry, I have to meet the person to be my potential roommate. I'm sure you would want the same, Shikamaru," Sasuke said.

"Too troublesome." The phone line clicked and went dead on the other end.

The seventh guy was Shino and he was quiet and kept to himself as he toured the place.

"This seems to be a tidy place," Shino remarked.

"Yes, I like to keep it that way."

"Me too."

"Okay."

The conversation was short and brief and Sasuke was beginning to like the guy. "So, as long as you keep the place clean, it shouldn't be a problem," Sasuke said.

Shino nodded.

"You don't have any pets, right?"

Shino shook his head. "No pets."

"Okay good."

Sasuke settled on Shino and cancelled the rest of the appointments. Orochimaru had sounded like a rapist on the phone and Sasuke was glad to not have met up with him. He only reached the voicemail for Neji but his voicemail had sounded pretentious and Sasuke could feel like he would not get along at all with Neji. He hung up before he could leave any voicemail for Jiraiya. Sasuke wasn't sure if he dialed the wrong number or if Jiraiya was a pervert with fetishes for anime girls.

Shino moved in that week and had unpacked all his belongings when Sasuke was out studying at the library.

"You unpack quickly," Sasuke mentioned when he got home.

Shino nodded and quickly returned to his room and shut the door.

Sasuke expected Shino to be quiet and reclusive but not to that point. He guess it was better than the talkative Lee.

Another week passed and Sasuke was home alone studying for his police academy exam when he saw something moving out of the corner of his eye. He was sitting in the living room and he could have sworn he saw a black shadow crawl from behind the television to the couch. He quickly took off his slipper as he walked behind the couch. A giant spider was crawling against his white couch and with a brute force, Sasuke slammed his slipper against the spider.

It died on his slipper and Sasuke cringed at the spot on his couch. He would need to sanitize it or something.

The front door opened and Shino announced his presence.

"Oh you're home. Be careful Shino. There might be a bug problem in here. I just killed the largest spider ever," Sasuke said as he held up his slipper.

Shino's mouth dropped open as he dropped the grocery bag in his hands. He slowly walked forward as he took off his sunglasses and reached his hand forward to the slipper.

"My baby," Shino gasped.

Sasuke backed away slowly from Shino. "Wait, what?"

"You. Killed. My. Baby." Shino collapsed on the floor with the slipper cradled in his hands.

From that day on, Sasuke never heard from Shino again as Shino packed up his things and left the apartment the next day. Shino didn't even ask for the rest of the rent back and all that remained left of him was probably the rest of the spider guts on Sasuke's slipper.

"What am I going to do?" Sasuke said to the other line of the phone to his best friend, Naruto.

"So you killed his baby?" Naruto asked.

"I didn't kill his baby. It was a freaking spider," Sasuke retorted.

"Yeah, but I bet he didn't see it that way."

"I said no pets. The guy had like a bug farm in his room." Sasuke sighed. "Look, I am able to cover for this month's rent but next month is an issue. I don't want to go through the interview process again. What if I end up with another freak like the spider lover?"

Naruto laughed. "Don't worry. I have the perfect person for you. My friend needs a place and I think you two would work out perfectly."

Sasuke frowned. "I don't know. Your idea of perfect also includes eating two bowls of ramen with no vegetables whatsoever."

Naruto ignored that response as he continued on, "Clean and tidy. Won't talk you to death. No pets. No weird fetishes. Not a rapist. Not lazy. Geez, what more do you want?"

"Can they cook?"

"Yeah, better than you ever could," Naruto snickered.

"I don't think you're one to talk. You only know how to boil water," Sasuke said dryly.

"I'll call my friend and you two can meet up tomorrow afternoon?"

"Okay, let's do 2 pm."

"Great. I'll let her know."

They hung up and Sasuke went back to his bedroom to sleep for the night. It was only ten minutes into dozing off that he sat up with a start. "Wait, did Naruto say _her_?"

Sasuke slowly lay back down on his bed but he kept wondering if Naruto knew he wanted a male roommate and not a female one. A female one would be too complicated. They would leave hair in the drain and make the bathroom smell like flowers. They would probably go crazy once a month and complain at him for the littlest things. Yeah, Sasuke did not want a female roommate at all. In fact, they were the worst kinds. Maybe even worse than that rapist sounding Orochimaru. He couldn't be too sure.

Afternoon rolled by and Sasuke waited by the door as the clock ticked to 2 pm. A strong knock came at the door and Sasuke opened it.

Standing before him was a girl. With pink hair and emerald green eyes, she smiled brightly at him. She was dressed in green scrubs underneath her white coat.

"Hi," she said brightly. "Sorry I look like this. I just came straight from work at the hospital."

"Oh," he replied. "You work at the hospital?"

"I'm an intern there. May I come in?" she asked.

Sasuke grudgingly opened the door wider as he allowed her entrance into his apartment. "Listen, I don't know what Naruto told you but…"

"My name is Sakura. Naruto told me a lot about you Sasuke. Said you were real stuck-up but I would get used to it after a week," Sakura interrupted him.

Sasuke frowned. Stuck-up? He couldn't really answer to that since technically, it was true and even he would admit to that. But it's not like Naruto had to tell everyone that.

"Listen, I don't think it's a good idea for us to live together," Sasuke started.

"Why not?" Sakura asked as she whirled around.

"Because… you're a girl."

"So?"

"And I'm a guy?" Sasuke continued on with even more questionable tone in his voice. What part of the message was this girl not understanding?

"Why? Are you planning to attack me in the middle of the night?" Sakura questioned.

"No! That's not what I meant!"

"Then what's the problem?"

"You'll leave hair in the drain…"

"I clean up after myself, thank you very much."

"You'll make the bathroom smell like flowers with all your scented items."

"Would you rather it smell like bathroom cleaner?"

She had a point. Sasuke actually didn't mind the scented flowers. He actually quite liked it. It would have been weird to have it there with two guys in the house but with a girl as a roommate, it was a passable excuse.

"But… each month…"

"I'll pay the rent on time for each month," Sakura said with a sigh.

"Er, that's not what I meant."

"Look, I'm clean and tidy and won't be in your way. I have work at the hospital during the day and then into the night so I probably won't even be home most of the time. I just need a place to sleep."

Sasuke ran out of arguments to counter the girl. Besides, it was Naruto's friend. It couldn't be all that bad to live with a girl.

"I guess."

Sakura smiled brightly. "Great, because I brought my suitcase and it's downstairs in the lobby."

'_Wow, this girl made her decision before I even made mine,' _Sasuke thought.

"Do you need help bringing it up?"

"Don't worry. I'm a strong girl," Sakura said as she walked to the front door. "Oh, since Naruto informed me that the last guy already paid for the rest of this month, I can just stay here for free until next month, right? Don't worry, I make really delicious dinners. Take it as my partial payment."

"Wait, what?"

Sakura smiled. "I already moved out of my old place so this would really help me out. It's a lot closer to the hospital for me. Thanks roomie!" she said as she disappeared into the hallway.

Sasuke was at a loss for words. "How annoying," he murmured with a smile.


	2. Cuddle Buddy

**Roommates**  
by Diana-san

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

* * *

**02\. Cuddle Buddy**

Sasuke got up in the middle of the night as he sighed from the thoughts raging through his mind. His exam date for the police academy was coming up and he couldn't help but feel nervous as the days drew closer. It wasn't like him to get nervous for things like this. He was always at the top of his class and excelled at everything he tried at. But knowing that his father would be watching him was enough to send his stomach into an overdrive. He hated to disappoint his father if he should do him less proud or worse, fail.

His throat felt dry. He needed water. As he got out of his bed to leave his room and into the kitchen, he noticed a lump on his perfectly white couch. It was Sakura. She was sleeping in the fetal position with her mouth slightly opened and her hands clenched into balls of fists. He wondered if she was fighting someone in her dream or something.

He walked into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water and drank it all in one gulp. Placing the glass in the sink, he left the kitchen to go back to his room. As he passed by the couch, he wondered if he should carry her back into her bedroom. He glanced over at his bedroom which was adjacent to hers.

'_She must have come home late from the hospital again and just passed out on the couch. Even though her room is only twenty steps away from the couch,' _he thought silently.

He sighed as he grabbed a woven blanket from the couch and pulled it over the sleeping girl. He had enough of his own worries. Plus, he didn't want to be caught in any potential situation where Sakura might infer that he was attacking her in the middle of the night.

It had been a week since the two of them had become roommates ever since his last roommate, Shino, stormed off from anger at Sasuke for killing Shino's beloved spider. He had no choice but to resort to asking Naruto for help in finding a replacement roommate and ended up meeting Naruto's friend, Sakura.

True to Naruto's words, Sakura had been the perfect roommate. Clean and tidy and didn't have any weird fetishes like Shino did with bugs. She was always cheerful and their conversations were pleasant rather than annoying. He was wrong about living with a female roommate. She was a lot better than his past male roommates. The fact that she can cook a killer dinner helped a lot too.

Sasuke returned to his bedroom as he collapsed on top of his bed.

The next morning, he woke up to the smell of eggs and bacon coming from the kitchen. He yawned as he turned off his alarm clock which hadn't even begun to ring since he woke up a good half hour earlier than the set time. He got up as he walked out to the living room to see Sakura placing down two plates of food down on the kitchen table.

"You're up," she said cheerfully as she turned off the stove.

"How are you always able to get up so early without an alarm clock?" Sasuke questioned.

"Habit," Sakura responded as she gestured to him to sit down and join her for breakfast.

Sasuke walked out of the bathroom as he wiped his mouth with a small hand towel before going into the kitchen and sitting down in a seat across from Sakura.

Sakura handed him a fork and he took it graciously as they ate in silence for the first few minutes.

"How's studying for the exam?" Sakura asked in between bites as she glanced down at the newspaper that was sitting beside her plate.

"Alright. Half of it is book-based and I can study for it. The other half is going to be announced during the exam."

"Seems tough. Hope it doesn't catch you off-guard."

Sasuke nodded as he swallowed down a piece of egg. He took a sip of his orange juice and glanced at Sakura. "How are you doing lately? You seem to be working longer hours this past weekend."

Sakura nodded as she sighed. "Yeah, the hospital has been really busy lately so I'm taking longer shifts to accommodate for the influx of patients."

Sasuke could only nod in sympathy. He didn't know what else to say.

"Hey, there's a festival happening next weekend. It's after your exam and I also have a two day break then. We should go!" Sakura said excitedly as she pointed to a section of the newspaper.

Sasuke frowned. Festivals weren't his thing. Actually, social events with other people weren't his thing. But what could he say to get out of it?

"No excuses Sasuke! I can see the wheels turning in your head. You're trying to think of a way to get out of it!" Sakura accused as she pointed an accusatory finger at him.

'_How does she know these things?'_ he wondered.

"Fine," he said with a sigh. He figured it was the least he could do for her since she always cooked for him. Then again, she is living with him rent free for the rest of the month until next month rolls by.

Sakura smiled as she folded up the newspaper and cleared her plates. "I'm off to the hospital now but I'll see you later for dinner! I'm thinking curry!"

Sasuke nodded as he wiped his mouth clean. "Don't forget the tomatoes," he murmured.

* * *

When Sasuke came home, he could smell the waft of curry in the air as he entered the apartment. Sakura glanced out from the kitchen with a smile as she waved her ladle at him.

"Welcome home!" she greeted him.

"Ah," he responded. "It's good to be-" he froze mid-sentence. The scenario seemed eerily familiar to him. It was almost like when his mother would greet his father each time his father returned home for dinner. Sasuke cleared his throat as he walked to his bedroom to put away his things. It was silly of him to think of his parents. It wasn't like he and Sakura were anything but roommates. Roommates that had dinner together each night and go to festivals together.

He walked back out into the living room as he watched Sakura cooking up a storm in the kitchen. Her hair was tied back into a small bun and she was humming as she stirred into the pot of curry she was concocting.

It felt weird to him for him to be watching her cook in his kitchen. They had only been roommates for a week and yet she was all too comfortable being in the apartment as she searched through the cabinets and pulled out matching bowls and spoons. They were matching. Like a set. A married couple set. Only couples would have matching items. Sasuke groaned as he sank into the white couch. What was wrong with him? He shouldn't be thinking this way at all.

"Sasuke?" Sakura called out from the kitchen.

Sasuke bolted upright from the couch. "What?!" he exclaimed.

"Dinner's ready."

"Oh," Sasuke uttered in embarrassment.

They ate quietly in the same manner as earlier before for during breakfast. Only this time, instead of a newspaper, Sakura was reading up what appeared to be hospital documents.

Sasuke peered up at Sakura from his bowl of curry. She was reading intently and pursing her lips every few minutes as her face scrunched up in deep concentration. He gulped down a spoonful of curry and rice as he noticed how pretty her face despite her long days at the hospital. Even with a messy bun and a wisp of hair falling slightly over her left eye, she shined with a radiance that only men could see from a long distance. Sasuke felt uncomfortable sitting across from Sakura. He wondered if the lack of sleep he had been getting each night was getting to him. He swallowed quickly before realizing he was choking on a piece of carrot.

He made an undistinguishable noise as he clung a hand to his throat and gargled for water. Sakura glanced up in shock as she jumped up from her seat and rushed over to Sasuke's side. Quickly, she pulled Sasuke off the seat as she performed the Heimlich maneuver on him. Sasuke coughed as a piece of carrot shot out from his mouth and rolled onto the floor.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked in worry as she lowered Sasuke down to the floor and he took a big breath of air. Sakura quickly reached out for a glass of water from the table and handed it to him. He took it hungrily as he gulped down half the glass before returning it to her.

"Yeah, choked on the carrot," he grunted.

"Sasuke, you're training to be a police cadet. You can't be choking on carrots like this," Sakura scolded.

He hung his head low. "Sorry," he muttered.

After that embarrassing event, Sasuke cleared the dishes as Sakura got ready for her night shifts at the hospital.

"Don't do anything dangerous to yourself or the apartment," Sakura joked as she waved goodbye.

* * *

As Sasuke got ready for bed, he placed one arm underneath his head as he stared up at the ceiling. Whatever happened earlier at dinner was just a weird mishap. He wasn't in his right mind and so he choked on the carrot. That was all. He turned to his side as he closed his eyes. If he slept on it, he can forget about it in the morning.

Only he couldn't forget it. Because somehow in the middle of the night, something crawled into bed next to him.

His back froze as he realized that a body was breathing heavily next to him. He turned to see Sakura sleeping peacefully in the fetal position. Her breathing returned to a normal slow pace as he took off the covers that was covering her mouth.

'_What the hell,'_ he thought as he watched her sleep. He knew his bedroom was adjacent to hers but she couldn't have possible walked into the wrong room in the middle of the night, could she? He had to carry her back into her bed. It would be super awkward in the morning if he didn't.

But as he continued to watch her sleep, he couldn't make a move to disturb her quiet nature. She had a smile on her face and her hands reached out to grab him by the arm. Slowly, he allowed her to come closer to him as she began to snuggle against his chest while all the while continuing to sleep like an angel.

This was wrong. This was very, very wrong.

But in that moment, it felt right.

* * *

He woke up the next morning and realized that he never completed the task of carrying Sakura back into her bedroom. He awoke to her shifting position in bed as she murmured softly in her sleep.

"Ah, crap!" he said a little too loudly as he got out of bed and stared at the lump in his bed. He had to bring her back now before she wakes up.

Quickly, he scooped her body up bridal style as he gently ran out of his room and into her room. It was easy since his door was left opened by her from last night but her own bedroom door was closed shut and Sasuke struggled as he tried to turn the doorknob in a way that wouldn't wake up the sleeping girl in his arms.

The door opened and he saw how bare it was except for a suitcase packed away in the corner and the few pieces of furniture that had been there since the start. Sakura didn't have much belongings with her when she moved and she never seemed to have bothered unpacking quite yet. He lowered her gently onto her bed and she stirred a little in her sleep. Quickly, Sasuke draped her sheets over her before exiting the room as quietly as possible. Mission accomplished. No one will ever have to know about what happened last night except for him.

Meanwhile, back in Sakura's bedroom, Sakura opened one eye in a hazy yawn as she sat up in bed. For some reason, she had a weird dream that she was cuddling in her roommate's arms. Her cheeks turned a rosy pink as she slapped her cheeks awake. "Don't think so dirty!" she scolded herself.

They ate breakfast together but each looking down at their own plate as they both couldn't look each other in the eyes. It was a quiet breakfast as they both ate speedily without a word.

The days passed by as they both returned to their normal routine with Sakura working at the hospital and Sasuke studying for his upcoming exam. He returned home one night with a smile on his face as he brought the good news to the dinner table.

"I passed," he stated as he sliced up a piece of his chicken.

"I'm so happy for you!" Sakura smiled as she raised her glass of water. "I knew you could do it!" She down the glass as she got up to go towards the cabinet where she pulled out two champagne flutes and a bottle of champagne. "I got this to celebrate!"

"You prepared early," he commented.

"I knew you were going to pass. It was the matter of when you chose to reveal it."

He smiled as he clinked champagne glasses with her as they drank to his accomplishment. "You're off work tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yes, the festival is a few hours from here though. We might have to stay the night," Sakura mentioned as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "It's okay if you don't want to go though. Since it's so out of the way. I thought it was going to be in the city."

"It's fine. We should go," Sasuke said as he bit into a piece of chicken on his fork.

"Really? You don't mind?"

"I passed the exam. I am in the mood to celebrate."

Sakura smiled. "Okay then!"

He wondered if he would regret those words. Staying overnight with her? They were roommates but it seemed a bit different to be staying in the same room together. That is, when one of them isn't unconscious in sleep and the other one is aware of everything.

It wouldn't be weird. They would have separate futons of course. It wasn't going to be weird. He had to make sure it wasn't.

* * *

He was wrong. It was weird. Definitely, really, really weird.

She came out from the changing room in a summer yukata and twirled around as she showed off the colors of pink and rose on her yukata for the summer festival. Sasuke folded his arms against the blue yukata he was donning. They had taken the train to the location of the festival and had changed into yukatas at the insistence of Sakura. She had never worn one before and Sasuke was surprised to see how different she looked in it compared to her usual green scrubs.

He blushed slightly as he muttered a compliment of something along the lines of "you look nice" and "let's go."

She walked slowly next to him in her clogs and Sasuke could tell that she wasn't used to it as she stumbled every now and then. He sighed as he offered his arm out. He knew she wasn't going to ask for help but would only take it if it was offered to her first. She took his arm willingly as she clutched tightly to the fabric of his yukata. They walked past the food stalls and stopped along the ones that Sakura pointed out to.

Sakura laughed as she held a stick of dango in her right hand and watched Sasuke get matcha powder all over the side of his cheek as he awkwardly held the mochi in his left hand. She took out a handkerchief from her waist pocket as she gently wiped the powder away from his face. She blushed when she realized how intimate it must have looked to the eyes of spectators around them.

They said nothing as they walked some more to the end of the festival where the edge overlooked the waters of the lake. They stood there silently as they waited for the fireworks show to start.

Sakura let go of his yukata as she placed both hands on the railing in front of her. She smiled in amazement as the fireworks show commenced.

"Amazing!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Ah," he replied. He caught her gazing at him and they glanced at each other. He wasn't sure how long they were staring at each other but he broke eye contact when he heard another round of fireworks go off.

The festival came to an end with the closing of the fireworks for the night. The two of them returned to the inn they were staying at and awkwardly sat in the single room with two futons laid out.

"Goodnight Sasuke," Sakura said as she slid underneath the covers of her futon.

He replied with a good night as he got underneath his own covers. Somehow, along the night, Sakura had completely abandoned her futon and had rolled over to his side as she hoisted a leg up and trapped him underneath her. Sasuke woke up with a start as he rolled her over and lifted up his covers. She was passed out sleeping in the center between the futons and Sasuke sighed as he lifted his covers to shield her from the cold.

She must have sensed the movements because she promptly rolled over back to his side as she snuggled up to him. He closed his eyes as the scenario was just like a repeat of the last time she was found in his bed.

"Sakura," he said gently as he tried to wake her up. It was to no avail as she continued to sleep with a hand clutched on his shirt.

He laid back down as he wondered what to do at this point.

"Sasuke," Sakura said softly as she hugged him.

Sasuke froze in place. He watched as Sakura's eyes slowly opened and looked up at him. She smiled at him and he could tell that she was conscious. Unless this was some form of sleep-talking and she was still unconscious despite her opened eyes. He opened his mouth to say something. Anything really. Maybe a joke to break the awkward silence he was feeling. Nothing came out as they stared at each other underneath the soft reflection of the moonlight shining down on them.

Suddenly, she squeezed him tighter as she apologized loudly, "I'm sorry Sasuke! Can we sleep like this? I haven't been sleeping well these past few nights but one night, I accidentally crawled into your bed and it was the best sleep I had in ages and now I don't know what to do anymore because I can't keep sneaking into your bed at night but I really want to sleep."

She was speaking so fast that the words seemed to blur into each other and there were a few tears coming out of her eyes as she looked up pleadingly at Sasuke. He was at a loss for words. How was a guy supposed to respond to that? She wanted to sleep with him? But only just sleeping.

"I-I…" Sasuke started.

"I know! You think I have a weird fetish or something! I'm sorry! Naruto promised you that I was normal but it turns out that I'm this bizarre girl who likes to sleep with her super, hot roommate and now you are thinking of how to turn me down gently without hurting my feelings or maybe you're just thinking of how to tell me that I can't live in the apartment anymore and I should pack my things up and go!"

Sakura wouldn't stop talking and interrupting his thoughts. He pulled away from her as he pushed her arms off of him so that he held her at an arm's length by her shoulders.

"Sakura," he responded gruffly as he stared directly into her eyes.

"Yeah?" Sakura whimpered a little. She didn't want to move out. Or get kicked out.

"Does your weird fetish work on all boys?"

"What?" The question made no sense to her.

Sasuke sighed. "Would you crawl into Naruto's bed if you couldn't sleep at night?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Ew, no. That's weird!"

"So it's not just any guy? Just me?" Sasuke asked.

"I-I guess. My lack of sleep mostly started after that night I went into your room by accident."

"You were aware that you were in my room?" he questioned.

"N-not at first. But when I woke up back in my bedroom, I thought I was dreaming it all. Until you didn't look at me the next morning. Then I knew that I probably wasn't dreaming."

He looked her squarely in the eye again. "Sakura, do you like me?"

Her face turned a bright pink. Not that he could tell since they were in the dark but he could feel her body stiffen at the question as she cast her eyes away.

"N-no!" she stammered. "I think."

"What would you do if I kissed you right now?"

She turned to look at him in shock. "I'll punch you in the face."

"Really?"

Sakura smiled. "Want to bet on it?"

He smirked as he pulled her closer and leaned his face forward to kiss her on the lips. At first it was gentle, chaste kiss and he meant to pull away quickly in the event that Sakura did decide to punch him in the face. But when he began to pull apart from the kiss, she reached her arms out to pull him back as she kissed him back. His tongue explored her mouth as the kiss deepened and he could feel her press her body up against him. They only began to pull apart from the kiss for a moment's breath of air. His forehead pressed against hers as he listened to her heavy breathing mingled with his own.

"You lost the bet," he whispered softly as he played with a strand of her hair.

She batted her eyes at him. "What is my punishment?"

"You'll have to move out…"

She gasped and for a moment, her eyes looked as if she was going to burst out into tears.

"…into my bedroom," he finished.

Sakura closed her eyes, half-relieved and half wanting to strangle Sasuke for scaring her like that.

"I can't have you always falling asleep on my white couch. You're going to dent it."

She scowled. "Is that any way to talk to your beloved roomie?"

"We're more like bed buddies now."

"Cuddle buddies," she corrected him.

"You're a cuddler?"

She frowned. "You're not?"

"Maybe, if it's with you."

Sakura smiled as she leaned in to kiss him gently on the lips.

"Do you kiss all your cuddle buddies?" he asked with an amused smile.

"Just the ones I like," she responded as she settled comfortably against his arms with a smile on her face.


	3. Body Pillow

**Roommates  
**by Diana-san**  
**

**Author's Note:** Short chapter requested by someone on tumblr that I thought I would share with everyone here. Honestly, this was intended as a one-shot and then it became two and three... Maybe it's just going to be a collection of short, fluffy stories about Sasuke and Sakura being roommates.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

* * *

**03\. Body Pillow**

Sasuke questioned the large lump in his bed as he stood in the entrance of his bedroom with a toothbrush in one hand. He stuck the toothbrush in his mouth as he began to brush the back of his teeth as his eyes narrowed at the questionable object.

Sakura had kept most of her things still in her own bedroom but had moved certain nighttime belongings into his room. He didn't mind the change in pillowcases from his usual plain navy blue case to a more flowery design. Or the fact that there was an extra pillow on the bed since Sakura had a thing for pillows. But the long body pillow was something that bothered him greatly.

First of all, where was it going to go at night? Was it meant to separate the two of them? That didn't make sense because everyone in the apartment knew that Sakura was a cuddler. He saw the body pillow as a hindrance and an obstacle if anything. It was not needed at all.

"Sakura," he called out to his roommate/cuddle buddy/whatever she wanted to be known as. "What is that thing doing on our bed?"

Our bed. That was a new term he didn't think he would ever use.

Sakura poked her head out from the bathroom with a face mask still on. "What thing? The body pillow?"

"Yes, what is it doing there? Aren't I enough?"

Sakura smiled as she walked over towards him. "Jealous?" she teased.

He scoffed. As if.

"It's taking up too much room," he argued.

She walked into the bedroom and picked up the pillow. "Okay, I'll set it down here then," she said as she placed it on the carpet floor near the bedside table.

She glanced up at him. "I was just worried that you'll get lonely when I'm at the hospital during my night shifts."

He scoffed again. "Lonely? I'm a big boy Sakura. I can handle a few hours of sleep without you."

She gave a small pout underneath her face mask. "I don't know. You gotten awfully clingy the past few nights."

He crossed his arms. "Are you getting tired of me?"

She laughed as she walked over to hug him from the front. "Never," she promised him.

"Okay, I'm off to my night shift," Sakura called out as she slipped on her shoes.

Sasuke nodded as Sakura planted a chaste kiss on his cheeks and waved goodbye. The door clicked behind her and soon the apartment was quiet again.

A few hours later, Sasuke laid in bed as he got ready to go to sleep. He glanced at the clock. Sakura wouldn't be home for another two hours. She was stuck on the night shift schedule for at least another week. Sasuke leaned on one arm as he rolled to his side and stared at the window. It was a full moon out and the moonlight shone down on his room. He reached out an arm and felt at the empty space beside him.

He didn't want to admit it but it did feel a little lonely. Just a little.

Sasuke closed his eyes as he tried to fall asleep. He counted sheep. He thought about his day at work. He repeated the stupid joke that Naruto told him over the phone that he still didn't quite understand. To no avail, he just couldn't fall asleep.

He opened one eye as he peeked out at the window again. His gaze moseyed downwards from the window as it rested on the body pillow sitting on its side against the wall.

With a cough, he sat up in bed as he stared at the pillow that seemed to be staring back at him. He shifted his body over to the other side of the bed as he reached over to grab the pillow off the ground.

"Ah, screw it," he muttered as he hugged the pillow and promptly went to sleep.

Sakura opened the door to the bedroom as she peeked in to see Sasuke sleeping comfortably against her body pillow. She smiled as she went over to her side of the bed and crawled underneath the covers. Sasuke felt her presence and slowly opened one eye as he whispered to her, "You're home."

She nodded but wasn't sure if he saw since the body pillow was between them. With a swift move, the body pillow disappeared as Sasuke tossed it over her and it landed on the ground with a soft thump against the wall.

He smiled as he pulled her in close to him.

"You used the pillow," she whispered back.

"Yeah, but I prefer the real thing," he said as he closed his eyes once more.


	4. Sleepover

**Roommates  
**by Diana-san

**Author's Note:** For ohsoblue who suggested this: "Maybe a situation where a friend or family member comes over to visit and how Sasuke and Sakura interact in their presence?" Not sure if this was what you had in mind but it was the only thing I could think of when I read your review. Heheh.. so guys, this is definitely not a one-shot anymore. I don't know what you call it. A series of unfortunate roommate shenanigans.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

* * *

**04\. Sleepover**

"What are you doing?" Sakura exclaimed as Sasuke dumped the blond boy onto the bed. Naruto rolled over in a drunken sigh as he began to snooze against the body pillow that was on top of the bed.

"Putting the idiot to sleep," Sasuke muttered. "He just had to drink so much for his birthday…"

"Yes, but why is he being placed on _our _bed?" Sakura asked in exasperation.

"I'm not putting him on the white couch," Sasuke stated.

"As opposed to the bed? That we _sleep on?_" Sakura asked with one eyebrow raised.

Sasuke muttered silently to himself. "But the couch is white."

Sakura sighed as the two of them stared at the sleeping blond.

"Still, we shouldn't put him on our bed. What if he vomits on it?" Sakura questioned.

"You're right. I should just dump him on the floor," Sasuke said with a smirk as he leaned over to roll the blond closer to the edge of the bed.

"Sasuke," Sakura warned as she wagged her finger at him.

Sasuke sighed and went back to his original position by the post of the bed. "So now what?" he asked.

Sakura got up. "Well, I'm going back to my room to sleep. You can have fun dealing with Naruto for the night."

"You're not going to leave me with him, are you?"

She smiled. "Don't worry. Naruto won't bite."

He growled as he grabbed her wrist. "Don't go."

Sakura gently pried Sasuke's fingers off her wrist. "We're roommates Sasuke. At least in Naruto's eyes."

"I thought we were cuddle buddies," Sasuke retorted with a devious smile.

Sakura smiled back slyly as she went over to pick up her body pillow. "Well, for tonight, Naruto will be your new cuddle buddy."

She left the bedroom as she went back to her own bedroom and dropped the pillow off in the center of the bed. She tied up her hair as she went back out to go to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

As she wiped away the water from her face, Sakura walked over to Sasuke's bedroom to peek inside to see how the two were doing. Naruto was sleeping peacefully in the center of the bed but Sasuke was nowhere in sight. She glanced around the living room area as well as the kitchen, but he was in neither location.

With a suspicion in her mind, Sakura walked over to her own bedroom that was adjacent to Sasuke's. She opened the door to find Sasuke sleeping against the body pillow on her bed. She walked over closer and noticed how he flinched ever so slightly at her movement towards him.

Sakura crossed her arms. She knew that Sasuke was just pretending to be asleep but there wasn't really anything she could do about it. Naruto was on Sasuke's bed and Sasuke was on her bed. There was only the couch left and she really didn't want to sleep on the couch. She sighed as she crawled into bed and laid down beside Sasuke.

Sasuke smiled when he felt Sakura lie down next to him and quickly, he tossed the body pillow to the side as he embraced Sakura.

"You're sneaky," Sakura muttered but she couldn't help but cuddle up closer to him.

"Mm," he murmured as his lips pressed up against Sakura's forehead.

"You're in so much trouble when Naruto wakes up before us and finds us like this," she said softly as her eyes began to feel heavy with sleep.

"I doubt he can wake up earlier than us," he whispered back as he closed his eyes with Sakura in his warm embrace.

* * *

They were wrong.

"What the hell are you guys DOING?" came a loud yell from the doorway.

Sakura drowsily opened one eye as she rolled over to her side to glance at the clock. It was six in the morning. She yawned. She wasn't due for her hospital shift for at least another five hours. She was sure she asked for a new schedule for this week.

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura's eyes flew open as she bolted upright. Naruto was standing at the doorway with a shocked expression on his face.

"Crap," was the only word that came to mind as she stared back at Naruto. Quickly, she reached out a hand to shake the body next to her so that he would wake.

Sasuke grumbled as he pulled the covers over his head.

"Sasuke…" Sakura murmured as her gaze never left Naruto's face.

Sasuke growled deeply in his sleep as he reluctantly sat up next to Sakura. "What?" he muttered, clearly annoyed for being woken up so early.

"Naruto," Sakura gulped.

Naruto rubbed his eyes as if he couldn't believe the sight before him. Sakura and Sasuke were in bed together. His Sakura and Sasuke. His two best friends. In bed. Together.

"You bastard! I told you to take Sakura as your roommate! Not sleep with her!" Naruto yelled as he lunged at Sasuke.

Sasuke reacted as he stuck out his hand to push Naruto's head back as Naruto's arms came flailing out at him in a messy claw-like reaction.

Sakura glanced back and forth between Naruto and Sasuke. "You said he wouldn't wake up before us," she hissed at Sasuke.

"I forgot that drunk people usually wake up early in the morning," Sasuke replied with a nonchalant tone.

"Sakura-chan! Y-you didn't get in willingly with him, did you?" Naruto turned to ask Sakura with worry and concern in his eyes.

"This is my room. He crawled into my bed," Sakura replied.

Sasuke smirked. "Relax Naruto. We were just having a sleepover."

"Bastard!" Naruto growled as he turned back to Sasuke with daggers in his eyes.

Sakura sighed. "Sasuke and I are dating."

"What?" Naruto asked with an incredulous gasp.

"We are dating," Sasuke repeated slowly so that Naruto could understand it better.

Naruto clutched his mouth as he made a sickened expression on his face.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Naruto replied as his face turned a little pale.

"Gee Naruto, does it freak you out that much?" Sakura asked with a frown.

"N-no. The alcohol. I think I am going to hurl-" Naruto began as he started to stagger.

Quickly, Sakura and Sasuke leapt to their feet as they got out of bed.

"No!" Sakura gasped as she watched Naruto dive headfirst into the pillows.

"You're going to need new pillows," Sasuke remarked.

Sakura groaned as she covered her eyes, not wanting to believe that her pillows were being ruined that very second. Or the fact that Naruto was using her brand new sheets to wipe his mouth.

Sasuke came up from behind her as he wrapped his arms around Sakura's waist. "It's okay," he whispered softly into her ear. "You can sleep in my room tonight."


	5. Nightmare

**Roommates  
**by Diana-san

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

* * *

**05\. Nightmare**

"NO!"

Sakura jolted upright at the sound of Sasuke's yell. She rubbed her eyes as she glanced over at Sasuke who appeared to be sleeping soundly just like she would have been if he hadn't screamed so loudly at 6 in the morning.

"Sasuke?" she asked softly to test how deep of a sleep he was in. She didn't want to wake him up if his scream was just an apparent fluke. Sasuke stirred in his sleep and after a moment, he opened one eye before reaching his arms out for her.

"Morning," he mumbled, still in a half-asleep state.

"Sasuke, you screamed in your sleep," Sakura stated gently.

"No I didn't," he mumbled in reply as he kissed Sakura on the forehead and brought her closer to him so that they were hugging.

"Yes you did," Sakura said as she reached her hand out to squeeze Sasuke's chin so that his cheeks puffed out. Sasuke finally opened both eyes as he stared at Sakura in confusion.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Sakura asked.

He shrugged. "I can't really remember."

He was lying. It was obvious that he did remember since he still had a disturbed expression written all over his face. But Sakura decide not to push him any further. Clearly, he didn't want to talk about it.

* * *

The next night, it happened again as Sasuke tossed and turned several times in his sleep before shouting incoherent things in his sleep.

"Sasuke!" Sakura said in urgency as she tried to shake Sasuke awake. He sat up in a jolt as he gasped heavily and his hands reached to clutch his head.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked in worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he grumbled.

"Sasuke, tell me. You're keeping something. I can tell," Sakura insisted.

Sasuke groaned as he covered his face in his hands. "It's embarrassing."

"C'mon, it can't be that bad," Sakura crooned as she wrapped her arms around his left arm. "I'll tell you my nightmares."

"You don't have nightmares."

"Sure I do. I had a nightmare once about work. I was freaking out about dropping the scalpel on my patient since I was still new."

He only groaned in response. "That only makes mine sound lame. Yours is legit. Mine isn't."

"What is it?" Sakura pressed.

"…"

"Sasuke…"

"Naruto kissed me."

Sakura gaped at him. "What?"

Sasuke groaned. "It's not like that. I know what you're thinking right now. You have that look."

Sakura smirked. "What look? You mean the look that says 'my boyfriend dreams about kissing other guys'?"

Sasuke shot her a death glare. "It's not funny."

"It's a little funny."

Sasuke frowned as he crossed his arms as if he was throwing a silent tantrum.

"Okay, okay. It's not funny at all. It's a very serious matter. You should seek psychological help. This nightmare might mean there is something about your subconscious that might have some feelings for—-"

"Dammit Sakura!" Sasuke shouted.

Sakura howled in laughter. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. I just keep imagining it…"

"DON'T IMAGINE IT!"

"Was he at least a good kisser?"

"NO!"

Sakura grinned. "You do know why you are having these dreams, right?" Sakura pointed out.

Sasuke groaned. "They're not dreams. They're living nightmares.." he grumbled.

"How's CPR classes with Naruto?"

"I want to die."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "It's not that bad. It's the life of police academy with Naruto. Would you rather kiss a different guy?"

"I rather not kiss any guy."

Sakura crossed her arms. "It's an emergency procedure. Not a kiss. Don't fret."

"Naruto's very sloppy when he practices…" Sasuke grumbled.

"You're not a walk in the park either," Sakura commented with a smile.

Sasuke raised his eyebrow at her. "Oh yeah? You are _challenging_ my kisses?"

Sakura smiled. "Yes, I am."

"I'll show you who is the great kisser," he muttered as he cupped Sakura's face in his hands and gave her a deep kiss that sent shivers up and down her lower spine. When he pulled away, he had left her breathless. "Still think I am sloppy?"

Sakura frowned. "Don't stop. Continue," she demanded as she pulled him back for another kiss.


	6. Nightmare II

**Roommates  
**by Diana-san

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

* * *

**06\. Nightmare II**

Sakura couldn't fall asleep. She sighed as she stared up at the blank ceiling. She had been staring at it for the past half hour and it still remained unchanged. Rolling to her side, she glanced at the digital clock. It was half past 1 am. Sasuke was probably asleep by now. They had been sleeping in their own beds for the past three days since Sasuke caught some sort of a bug and didn't want to infect Sakura.

Sakura was grateful for the concern but now, she realized how much she missed having him just close by. Close enough to touch and to hug when she was feeling restless.

She closed her eyes as she thought about what it was like to hug him. It had been so long that she had trouble remembering. In an instant, she woke up with a start and she could feel the cold sweat cover her whole body. She glanced back at the clock and saw that it was almost 3 am. She had somehow fallen asleep without knowing it.

Heart pounding against her chest, Sakura could still feel the adrenaline rushing through her. The nightmare she had felt so real. She was running and running with all her might but her legs never seemed to carried her fast enough. She didn't know what she was running from but she was sure that if she didn't wake up in time, she would have been caught.

She lifted up her covers and pushed it to the side as she took several deep breaths to calm herself. She could remember the last thing before she had waken up was that she had jumped off the cliff. Figures. All nightmares end in terrifying ways to die. She hated the falling dreams. They felt too real.

Swinging her legs over, she allowed her feet to touch the ground as she gently sat up and walked to the door. Her legs wobbled a little under her weight and clearly, she was still shaken up from whatever that nightmare was. Creeping to the door, she opened it as she peered out. The living room was empty and Sasuke's bedroom door was left slightly ajar. She walked slowly to his door as she opened it and looked inside.

Sasuke was sound asleep and Sakura could hear his slow and paced breathing that matched the rhythm of his chest going up and down against his sheets. He looked serene in his sleep and Sakura almost didn't want to disturb him. Almost. But she just had a scary nightmare and she needed him tonight. She wanted to stay by his side. Who cares if he was contaminated with a cold virus? They could be sick together and she can miss work for a week.

Sakura went over to the other side of the bed as she crawled into bed. She was feeling cold earlier from being out of bed but as soon as she got in, she felt his nearby warmth as she moved in closer to hug him. He stirred a little in his sleep but continued to sleep. It was while hugging him that Sakura realized something. When she had jumped off the cliff, the first instinct would be to panic but somehow, she had felt relief. Earlier, she had thought that she had accidentally fallen off the cliff but after rehashing through the dream again, she realized she had jumped off willingly.

Sasuke stirred in his sleep again and this time, he woke up. "Sakura?" he asked in a confused state.

"Sorry," she mumbled as she didn't bother to move at all from the position she was in.

"What are you doing in my bed?" he asked, half-awake.

"I had…a nightmare."

Sasuke sat up slowly. "What was it?" he asked, slightly worried. "Are you okay?"

Sakura sighed as she sat up as well. "Yeah.."

"You don't sound fine," he said.

Sakura sighed as Sasuke lifted up her chin so that he could see her face. She pouted as her cheeks puffed up slightly as his hand remained on her cheeks, squeezing it ever so slightly.

"I…I was being chased," she started.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her. "You're never one to run from things. You usually take them head-on," he remarked.

Sakura stared back into Sasuke's obsidian eyes as her heart raced slightly. "That's because I wasn't running away from an actual human or object. I was running from an idea…"

"An idea?"

"Commitment! I was running away from the thought of commitment!"

Sasuke burst out laughing. "What?"

Sakura pouted some more as Sasuke's hand still remained on her. She pulled back as she swatted his hand away. "We've been together for a really long time now," Sakura said.

"It's only been six months," Sasuke stated. Sakura shot him a dirty look. "Go on," he continued.

"Anyways, we've been dating for six months. I never had a relationship that lasted that long," Sakura admitted.

"Really now? Six months is your mark?" Sasuke asked, a bit surprised at the fact. They hadn't really talked about past relationships with each other and he didn't really want to get into that either to be perfectly honest.

"What's yours hotshot?" Sakura asked.

"Four months… wait no, I didn't really inform her that we were over. I guess two weeks," Sasuke replied as he thought about it.

"Are you serious?!" Sakura asked in shock. "TWO WEEKS?!"

"It would have been one week but Naruto said you can't dump a girl before their birthday, Valentine's Day, or Christmas."

"…"

Sasuke smirked. "Hey, that just means you're special for lasting so long," he pointed out.

Sakura laughed dryly. "Wow, gee, thanks. I'm glad I beat four-months girl. What is up with four months girl by the way?"

"Technically, we lasted a week but I never got around to telling her I wanted to break up and she was on a summer program abroad for three months almost so… she kind of believed we were together for that long?"

Sakura stared at Sasuke in disbelief. "You're ridiculous," she stated.

Sasuke gave a sheepish smile. Changing the conversation back to the original topic, he gave Sakura a serious look. "So commitment, huh?"

Sakura looked down at her hands in slight embarrassment at what she was about to say next. "Anyways, I jumped off a cliff at the end of the dream and woke up and that's all!" she said quickly as she slid underneath the covers and pulled them over her head.

Sasuke pulled the covers off her to reveal her face. "Yeah right. There's more to that. Otherwise, you wouldn't be sneaking into my bed at 3 am."

"I missed you?" Sakura said.

He raised an eyebrow. "Okay, then. Go back to your own bed so I can get some sleep."

Sakura sighed. "I jumped off the cliff and instead of being scared, I was relieved."

Sasuke waited for her to continue the rest of the story.

Sakura closed her eyes as she covered her face with her hands. "I saw you standing at the bottom of the cliff and you caught me. That's when I realized that I'm not scared of commitment. I'm not scared because I have… I have you."

She could feel her heart pounding against her chest, the oxygen being trapped in her lungs, and her cheeks burning a crimson red. She had never admitted to anything like this before. She felt vulnerable for saying how she felt and it was a big step for her to take. To admit that she needed him more than she thought she did. He had only started out as her super hot roommate. But now, Sasuke was much more than that. Not just a roommate. Not even just a boyfriend. She wanted him to be much more.

Sasuke pulled down Sakura's hands from her face, revealing her emerald green eyes that shone even in the darkened room. The moonlight that shone through the nearby bedroom window casted a soft glow on Sakura's face. She blinked as she stared up at the ceiling until she saw Sasuke's face come into her view. He was peering at her with an intense gaze.

"I love you," she whispered softly as her cheeks blushed a soft pink.

He said nothing and the silence was almost deafening as she waited desperately for him to respond. He didn't have to say he loved her back. Although it would be nice if he did. She just wanted him to acknowledge her feelings first. And perhaps say that he would either feel the same way or understood her.

_'Something. Say something!'_ her mind screamed.

Sasuke continued to look at her and she was just about ready to headbutt him in the face if he continued to look at her like that. It was making her even more anxious to know that he was observing her.

He bent down and placed his forehead against her own. It surprised her as her eyes widened at the sudden touch of his skin against hers. His nose was touching hers and his breath was tickling against her lips. Sakura hitched her breath. Somehow, the fact that they were not kissing was almost as intoxicating and breath-taking than if they were kissing.

Heart continuing to pound like madness beating a drum, Sakura closed her eyes as she balled her fists up and kept them close to her heart.

Very slowly, she could feel Sasuke move again as his lips touched hers. Different from any other kiss that they had shared before, it was more sensual and gratifying than before. It lasted only a few seconds but when he pulled away and she opened her eyes, she could read the emotions across his face.

"I love you too," he whispered.

Sakura felt relieved. It was definitely good to hear him say it back. And she knew that he wasn't saying it only because she said it first. He had meant every word of it.

"Dammit Sakura," he whispered again. "I thought I had self-restraint. I didn't want to kiss you. I didn't want to get you sick. But you made it so hard."

Sakura smiled a wide grin. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she batted her eyes up at him. "I'm already love sick. Might as well continue," she said softly as she pulled him in for another kiss.


End file.
